See Rock City

Friday, June 26, 2009

Lake Worth is a city in Palm Beach County, Florida, which takes its name from the body of water along its eastern border, originally called "Lake Worth", and now generally known as the Lake Worth Lagoon. The lake itself was named for General William J. Worth, who led U.S. forces during the last part of the Second Seminole War. As of 2006, the population recorded by the U.S. Census Bureau was 36,342. The city is part of the South Florida metropolitan area, which is home to 5,463,857 people.

Lake Worth Lagoon

History

Local folklore has it that the first post office in the Lake Worth area was founded in the 1880s by a married African American couple who were freed slaves. The initial name for the post office was Jewel. The post office was located in a small dry good shop which the couple operated to serve the lake traffic which connected the small pioneerhomesteads located along the banks of the Lake Worth Lagoon.

After Henry Flagler extended his rail line south from West Palm Beach to Miami in 1896, a land development scheme was created to plant a townsite between the railroad and the lake. Purchasers of lots within the townsite would also receive a larger plot of land west of town for agricultural use. The initial name proposed for the new town was Lucerne; however, the U.S. Post Office refused to accept the name because there already was a Lake Lucerne post office north of Miami in Dade County. Therefore, the city fathers settled on the name Lake Worth, for the lake on which the fledgling town was sited. One of the main streets was named Lucerne Avenue instead. The city was officially incorporated in 1912. Many of the first residents were farmers from other parts of the American south and mid-west, looking to benefit from the growing winter vegetable market of the time. The city benefited with the rest of south Florida during the Florida land boom of the 1920s. A wooden automobile traffic bridge over Lake Worth was completed in 1919. The first casino and municipal beach complex was completed shortly thereafter. The 1920s also saw the completion of the Gulf Stream Hotel, which is presently be renovated and is on the National List of Historic Places.

Gulf Stream Hotel

The city was severely damaged in the 1928 hurricane, toppling the bell tower on the elementary school (today the City Hall Annex) and destroying the beachfront casino and automobile bridge over Lake Worth. This led to a severe economic decline within the community, during the Great Depression. Things were so dire in the city in the 1930s, that President Franklin D. Roosevelt's Works Progress Administration built a striking, moorish-styled "City Gymnasium" on the corner of Lake Avenue and Dixie Highway. The building today serves as City Hall.

Development started again after World War II with many modest pensioners, especially from Quebec, Finland and eventually Germany, moving to the city and building 1,000-square-foot (93 m2) cottages. These new immigrants brought their industrious nature with them as well as their native customs, restaurants, shops, and churches and for decades the town flourished. To this day, one can find an abundance of beer halls, chocolatiers, Bavarian delicatessens, and Lutheran churches, which stand out in the semitropical urban sprawl of south Florida.

After a short period of neglect and decline in the 1980s and 1990s, the downtown area has seen a huge resurgence in interest and development and once moribund property values have soared. The city's main street, Lake Avenue, contains some of the oldest commercial structures in south Florida, including the Lake Worth Play House. The rediscovery of this unique charm has spurred new interest in the city.

The city was hit especially hard by Hurricanes Frances, Jeanne, and Wilma in 2004 and 2005. The fishing pier was the most damaged and with the help of FEMA it is now being repaired; it was anticipated to reopen in the summer of 2008. The decaying Casino Building (no gambling) is in the process of being rebuilt in the style of the historic Casino Building of the 1920s. The city's public swimming pool has been restored and will host competitions as well as become a valuable resourse in teaching Palm Beach County residents to swim and exercise.

Lake Worth is located at 26°37′11″N 80°3′31″W﻿ / ﻿26.61972°N 80.05861°W﻿ / 26.61972; -80.05861,bordering West Palm Beach to the north, and Lantana to the south. 60 miles (97 km) north of downtown Miami. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 6.46 square miles (17 km2). 5.64 square miles (15 km2) of it is land and 0.86 square miles (2 km2) of it (12.69%) is water.

Several geographical features in Palm Beach County confusingly use the words Lake Worth. The city of Lake Worth is named after a lake now usually called Lake Worth Lagoon. This lagoon opens to the Atlantic Ocean at the Port of Palm Beach via the Lake Worth Inlet. Another inlet exists further south, at Boynton Beach. The port and two inlets are all distant from the city of Lake Worth. The lake is a long channel that spans much of Palm Beach County; indeed, the Intracoastal Waterway traverses the length of the lake. The manmade inlets to the ocean have replaced the natural freshwater with saltwater, such that the lake is actually now a tidal body, instead of a true lake.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has mapped most of Lake Worth in the Southern Florida Flatwoods land resource area.

Deep, poorly drained acidic sandy soils are typical for the area; they have gray topsoil, white subsoil, and a dark hardpan. Much of Lake Worth is built on a rapidly drained white or gray sand which is too dry and infertile to support vigorous plant growth. The western outskirts of Lake Worth are in the Southern Florida Lowlands area. Topsoils there are sandy, but the subsoils have a much higher content of clay and the soils are relatively fertile. As in the flatwoods, these soils are poorly drained for many purposes unless drainage systems are installed.

Although the incorporated city of Lake Worth is small geographically, as is common in Palm Beach County, a large unincorporated urbanized area with a Lake Worth postal address lies to the west of the city, and includes the census-designated place of Lake Worth Corridor, as well as neighborhoods such as The Fountains, Lago Lucerne, Lake Osborne Estates, Melaleuca Lane Corridor, Lake Charleston, and Palm Beach National. The 2006 Census estimates this urbanized area's population as 154,892,000. The total population of both incorporated and unincorporated Lake Worth is estimated by the 2006 Census to be 190,377.

Culture

Though Lake Worth is a considered a suburb of West Palm Beach, the city's downtown area has developed a distinct character and is a regular destination for both tourists and residents of South Florida. Downtown Lake Worth is home to the Lake Worth Playhouse and the Museum of the City of Lake Worth. Yearly festivals such as the Street Painting Festival and Finlandia Week (a celebration of Lake Worth's Finnish population) attract thousands of people. When combined with neighboring Lantana's Finnish community, it becomes the largest Finnish community in the United States. The largest Oktoberfest in south Florida is held every October just outside the city on Lantana Road. The city holds a biweekly street festival called "Friday on the Avenues," with both Lake and Lucerne Avenues being blocked to traffic and food and art kiosks being set up around the antique Town Clock in the square in front of City Hall Annex.

With 1,026 people claiming Finn descent in 2000, Lake Worth boasts the second largest Finnish diaspora as a percentage of total population in the world. In addition, Lake Worth has a large population of new immigrants from Latin America and the Caribbean, though the downtown area has become increasingly gentrified in recent years. Some of South Florida's most attractive architecture can be found in College Park, an affluent neighborhood in the northeast corner of the city.. The festival is an annual fundraiser which supports an array of social services for low to moderate income individuals and families.

Lake Worth is home of the Demetrius Klein Dance Company and choreographer Demetrius Klein.

A substantial portion of the 1981 movie, Body Heat, starring William Hurt and Kathleen Turner, was filmed in downtown Lake Worth.

Education

Public K-12 primary and secondary schools are administrated by the School District of Palm Beach County.

Lake Worth Community High School, the second-oldest high school in Palm Beach County, established in 1922, is in the city, as are Lake Worth Middle School and several elementary schools. John I. Leonard Community High School is located in neighboring Greenacres. Park Vista Community High School opened in 2004 and has magnet programs in health occupations, information technology, automotive, and film and TV production.

The main campus of Palm Beach Community College is located in unincorporated Lake Worth. It is the oldest community college in Florida, founded in 1933 as Palm Beach Junior College. It was at one time located on the campus of Palm Beach High School, at the present day Dreyfoos School of the Arts in downtown West Palm Beach. The school moved to its present location in 1956. The name was changed to Palm Beach Community College in 1988.

Sacred Heart Roman Catholic Church runs a separate private school (pre-K through 8).

Recreation

Lake Worth Pier damaged by Hurricane Frances, Jeanne & Wilma

Lake Worth contains a bounty of public parks and open space. The Municipal Beach is one of the last remaining large tracts of open, public space on the ocean in southeast Florida. Historically, it has always been a destination complete with a Casino building with retail shops. Currently, a proposal to renovate the beach park is underway and represents an innovative public/private partnership. The City Pier, jutting into the Atlantic, was once a proud symbol of the city; however, much of it was destroyed by Hurricane Frances in 2004. It is currently being rebuilt and raised 5 feet (1.5 m). Bryant Park, downtown on Lake Worth, has a 1920s bandshell which is used for festivals and events year round. The nearby municipal golf course offers low cost golfing with spectacular views of Lake Worth and Palm Beach beyond. On the west side of town, the County owned John Prince Park follows meandering shores of Lake Osborne and offers miles of bike and walking trails as well as hundreds of acres for picnicking, volleyball and even overnight camping. In 2009 the Snook Islands Recreation Boardwalk and Fishing Pier should be complete, where county residents will have access to Lake Worth and the Intracoastal Waterway for fishing and nature walks to view the mangroves and manatee.

Famous residents

Mark Foley: former United States congressman and a former elected city official Deidre Hall: Actress and soap opera star

Andy Hansen: Major League Baseball pitcher with the New York Giants (1944-50) and Philadelphia Phillies (1951-53)

Wednesday, June 24, 2009

Daytona Beach is a city in Volusia County, Florida, USA. According to 2006 U.S. Census Bureau estimates, the city has a population of 64,421. Daytona Beach is a principal city of the Deltona-Daytona Beach-Ormond Beach, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area, which the census bureau estimated had a 2006 population of 496,575. Daytona Beach is a prinicipal city in the Fun Coast region of the state of Florida.

Daytona Beach is a year-round family-friendly resort area, but could also accurately be called a seasonal town, with large groups of out-of-towners descending upon the city for various events, most notably Speedweeks in early February when over 200,000 NASCAR fans come to attend the season-opening Daytona 500. Other events include the NASCAR Coke Zero 400 race in July, Bike Week in early March, Biketoberfest in mid October. In the past Daytona Beach catered to spring breakers, but in recent years most of the vacationers have migrated to other sites, like Panama City Beach.

History

The area was once inhabited by the Timucuan Indians, who lived in fortified villages. War and disease, however, would decimate the tribe. Florida was acquired from Spain by the United States in 1821, although permanent settlement was delayed until after the Second Seminole War from 1835 to 1842. When the Civil War ended, Florida experienced a boom in tourism.

Aerial Photograph of City Island And Islanders Ball Park

The city was founded in 1870 and incorporated in 1876. It was named for its founder, Matthias D. Day. In 1886, the St. Johns & Halifax River Railway arrived in Daytona. The line would be purchased in 1889 by Henry Flagler, who made it part of his Florida East Coast Railway. The separate towns of Daytona, Daytona Beach and Seabreeze merged as "Daytona Beach" in 1926, at the urging of civic leader J.B. Kahn and others. By the 1920s, it was dubbed "The World's Most Famous Beach".

View of Atlantic Avenue : Daytona Beach, Florida, 1919

Daytona's wide beach of smooth, compacted sand attracted automobile and motorcycle races beginning in 1902, as pioneers in the industry tested their inventions. On March 8, 1936, the first stock car race was held on the Daytona Beach Road Course. In 1959, William France created NASCAR and the Daytona International Speedway to replace the beach course. Automobiles are still permitted on certain areas of the beach, at a maximum speed of 10 mph.

The city and its beaches, lined with hotels, motels, condominiums and houses, attract over 8,000,000 tourists each year. In a wide variety of price ranges, hotel and motel rooms are typically plentiful even during special events. Daytona Beach has high security around its main hotel locations, with multiple cameras filming hotel and beach areas. It is one of the few places in the world where a car can be driven on an ocean beach. Most other driving beaches require 4 wheel drive or other special equipment.

Stock car racing on the beach: Daytona Beach, Florida, 1947

During motorcycle events (Bike Week and Biketoberfest), several thousand bikers from all over the world visit the greater Daytona Beach area. While the city is often associated with spring break, the efforts of the local government to discourage rowdiness, combined with the rise of other spring break destinations, have nearly ended Daytona's former preeminence as a spring break destination.

The city of Daytona Beach is split in two by the Halifax River lagoon, part of the Intracoastal Waterway, and sits on the Atlantic Ocean. It is bordered on the north by Holly Hill and Ormond Beach and on the south by Daytona Beach Shores, South Daytona and Port Orange. The major highways that serve the city are the east-west Interstate 4 and the north-south Interstate 95, which intersect near the city. Other major roads in the city include US 92/International Speedway Boulevard, U.S. 1/Ridgewood Avenue, State Road 40 and A1A/Atlantic Avenue.

Bill Milam in his stock car : Daytona Beach, Florida

Daytona Beach has a humid subtropical climate, typical of the southeastern United States. Summers are hot and humid with highs usually in the 90s and a heat index often exceeding 100 degrees. Thunderstorms are frequent in summer afternoons and the hot, humid weather can last right through the fall months. Winters are dry and mild, marked by a constant series of cold fronts and warm-ups. Temperatures dip into the low 30s and upper 20s on rare occasion, and freezes are not common. Frost occurs a few times a year mainly in the inland areas, but is rare along the beaches. Snowfall is extremely rare. Temperatures in spring are famously pleasant with warm afternoons, cool evenings, and far less humidity. This beach-going weather attracts tourists back to the beaches usually by early March.

Motorcycle competitors line up for the race : Daytona Beach, Florida, 1947

Despite its warm location, there were a few catastrophic freezes in the area's history. Early settlers only left vague records, but severe freezes were indicated on: Jan. 2-3, 1766; Feb. 7-8, 1835; and Jan. 16, 1857. The cold weather was so severe that crops such as orange trees were killed and several plantation owners abandoned the area as a result.

Wrecked phone booth in Daytona Beach, located at the corner of highways US-92 and FL-A1A. Damage caused by 2004 Hurricane Frances.

Clock tower : Daytona Beach, Florida, 1953

Because of Daytona Beach's proximity to the Atlantic Ocean, the city has a significant chance of receiving hurricanes and tropical storms every hurricane season. However, prior to 2004, major hurricanes are only recorded as skirting by the coast of Daytona Beach without any direct hits.

View of the Pier and the Midway : Daytona Beach, Florida

Hurricane Floyd passed along the Florida coast in September 1999, which caused significant beach erosion and collapsed about 200 ft. section of the Daytona Beach Pier.

Rats Hole Custom Bike Show entries parked for judging. 2006

The 2004 Hurricane season was particularly tumultuous in the Daytona Beach area. Hurricane Charley was a very fast-moving, compact storm, which made landfall near Port Charlotte, Florida, on August 13, swept across the state and hit Daytona Beach from the inland before reentering the Atlantic Ocean. Hurricane Frances was a very large storm in size, which moved made landfall at Hutchinson Island South, Florida (near Port St. Lucie, Florida) in the early hours of September 5, and caused a significant amount of collateral damage. Portions of Daytona Beach were without electricity or phone service for ten days following Frances due to downed lines or shorted transformers. Just three weeks later, Hurricane Jeanne formed in the Atlantic Ocean and made landfall only six miles from the same spot Frances hit, at Hutchinson Island South, Florida, on September 26. Following the 2004 hurricane season, the names Charlie, Frances, and Jeanne were all retired from use.

Looking west along Main Street from intersection with South Ocean Avenue during 2006 Bike Week : Daytona Beach, Florida

Rogue Wave

On July 3 1992, a 27 mile long Rogue wave hit the Volusia County beaches. The wave's range was from Ormond Beach in the north, to New Smyrna Beach on the south. The crest was 18 feet high and centered at Daytona Beach. Sailboats crashed ashore onto cars and many people suffered cuts and bruises from glass and debris. Two people required hospitalization and 200 vehicles were damaged. 75 injuries were reported. The prevailing theory is that an underwater landslide caused the rogue wave, although others have theorized that it was the result of a squall line.

A postcard depicting Daytona's Ridgewood Avenue, c. 1915

Culture

Daytona Beach Skyline, from the Seabreeze Bridge, 2007

The Museum of Arts and Sciences is the primary cultural facility for Daytona Beach and Volusia County. Other museums located in the city include the Southeast Museum of Photography and the Halifax Historical Museum. The Museum of Arts and Sciences is actually a collection of museums and galleries and includes the Klancke Environmental Complex, the Cuban Museum, Root Family Museum featuring one of the largest Coca-Cola(R) collections in the world, the Dow American Gallery and the Bouchelle Center for Decorative Arts which together form what is probably one of the finest collections of furniture and decorative arts in the Southeast. There are also changing exhibitions and a new children's science center planned to open in 2008.

There have been a number of movies based on Daytona Beach, usually with a racing theme. The most recent example was the 1990 hit Days of Thunder, parts of which were filmed in Daytona Beach and nearby DeLand.

A large part of the Daytona Beach area economy is involved in the tourist industry. Over 8 million visitors came to the Daytona Beach area in 2004.

The Oleander Inn : Daytona Beach, Florida, 1950

The area's economy includes other industries besides tourism, such as manufacturing. Daytona Beach provides a dynamic business environment with opportunities for the development and growth of smaller, home grown businesses and large corporate enterprises. It's a community with a talented and diverse workforce. Daytona Beach has industrial sites within an enterprise zone and sites within a foreign trade zone adjacent to Daytona Beach International Airport. A medical office park provides additional sites. Prime Interstate 4 and Interstate 95 sites are available with excellent access to road, air, rail and water transportation.

Sun and Sand Hotel Court : Daytona Beach, Florida, 1950

Companies and organizations that have their corporate headquarters or a major presence in the area:

Advanced Ordnance

Brown & Brown Inc. (Insurance)

Consolidated Tomoka Land Company

Crane Cams

ACT Corporation - Enrichment Industries

Halifax Health

International Speedway Corporation

Gambro-Renal Products

Ladies Professional Golf Association

Miller-Leaman

NASCAR

Ocean Design

Piedmont Plastics

Raydon Corporation

SunTrust Bank

X1R (auto lubricants)

Education

Public primary and secondary education is handled by Volusia County Schools. Daytona Beach has two public traditional high schools, Seabreeze High School and Mainland High School. Some of the larger private schools include Father Lopez Catholic High School.

The life-sized Wright Flyer statue is located at the Daytona Beach campus of Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.

Colleges and universities

Bethune-Cookman University Daytona State College Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University University of Central Florida, Daytona Beach Campus

Passenger airline services are located at Daytona Beach International Airport (DBIA), which is centrally located within the city, adjacent to Daytona International Speedway. The city first located its airport at this location in 1930, with terminals being constructed in 1952 and 1958. The present facility was constructed in 1992 at the cost of $46 million, and includes both a Domestic terminal and an International terminal. Despite the new facilities, DBIA has found difficulty in attracting and retaining carriers, having seen Continental Airlines, AirTran Airways, and United Airlines discontinue flights to Daytona in 2007 and 2008.

Old News-Journal Building : Daytona Beach, Florida, 1950

Current passenger airlines serving DBIA include Delta Air Lines, with service non-stop to Atlanta, GA and US Airways, flying non-stop to Charlotte, NC. Both carriers offer connecting service from those cities to destinations worldwide.

International flights from Daytona Beach are available to destinations in the Bahamas through air-taxi and charter services Airgate Aviation and IslandPass. Non-stop flights are available from DBIA to Marsh Harbour, Treasure Cay, and North Eleuthera.

Daytona Beach civic center made of coquina during the WPA, 1940

DBIA is heavily used for the purpose of general aviation, largely due to Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, whose campus is located at the airport.

1939

Other airports nearby are Orlando International Airport and Jacksonville International Airport, both of which are approximately one and one half hours away.

Auto

The Volusia County Parking Garage in Daytona Beach provides a place for visitors to park and walk around.

Daytona Beach is easily accessible by I-95 that runs North and South and I-4 connecting Daytona Beach with Orlando and Tampa. U.S. 1 (Ridgewood Avenue) also passes through Daytona Beach. A1A is a scenic North/South route along the beach.

1939

The Volusia County Parking Garage is located at 701 Earl Street at North Atlantic Avenue (A1A). The garage is strategically located, next to the Ocean Center, Daytona Lagoon, and across the street from the Hilton Hotel and Ocean Walk Shoppes. Over one thousand parking spaces are available inside the garage, which also houses an intermodal transfer station for VoTran. Pricing varies at different times of the year.

Gilbert Hotel: Main Street and Atlantic Avenue, Daytona Beach, 1938

Rail

Passenger railroad service to Daytona Beach was established no later than 1889 by the Jacksonville, St. Augustine and Halifax River Railway, predecessor of the Florida East Coast Railroad (FEC). Passenger trains continued calling at Daytona Beach till 1968, when the FEC terminated passenger operations system-wide.

Daytona beach and famous auto speedway,

Daytona Beach is served by Amtrak by way of a Thruway Motorcoach connection between the beachside and Amtrak's DeLand Station, 28 miles to the west. There, the service connects northbound with train 92, the Silver Star, and train 98, the Silver Meteor. Southbound connections from Daytona Beach are limited to the Silver Meteor's southbound train 97. The DeLand - Daytona Beach service is Amtrak's only Florida Thruway Motorcoach route provided by a taxi-cab, rather than a bus.